by Richard Pacheco
“Dancing at Lughnasa”, currently at 2nd Story Theatre upstairs,
is a 1990 play by dramatist Brian Friel set in Ireland's
County Donegal
in August 1936 in the fictional town of Ballybeg.
It is a memory play told from the point of view of the adult Michael Evans, the
narrator, Chrissie Mundy's young, illegitimate son. He recounts the summer in
his aunts' cottage when he was seven years old. The play depicts the late
summer days when love briefly seems possible for three of the Mundy sisters
(Chris, Rose, and Kate) and the family welcomes home the frail elder brother,
who has returned from a life as a missionary in Africa.
However, as the summer ends, the family foresees the sadness and economic privations
under which they will suffer as all hopes fade. The play takes place in early
August, around the festival of Lughnasadh, the Celtic harvest festival. The
play describes a bitter harvest for the Mundy sisters, a time of reaping what
has been sown. All the drama takes place within the sisters' cottage, with
events outside being reported, either as they happen or as reminiscence.
The play was originally presented at the Abbey
Theatre in Dublin in 1990. It
transferred to London's National
Theatre in 1991, winning the Olivier Award for Best Play, and subsequently to
Broadway where it won the Tony Award for Best Play as well as a Drama Desk
Award nomination for Outstanding Play.
Kate is the eldest of the Mundy sisters and behaves
as a Mother figure as a result. As a schoolteacher, she is the only wage-earner
in the house, but her reputation as 'The Gander' in the schoolroom is seen to
extend into the household. She is a fiercely devout Catholic, indicated by her
distaste for the pagan practices at Lughnasa and Jack's loss of faith. Rachel Morris delivers a telling and
impressive performance as Kate, full of nuance and depth.
Maggie acts as the chief family homemaker.
Throughout the play she is revealed as serving a deeper purpose as the
"joker" of the family, defusing tensions as they arise. She cheekily
challenges Kate's authority by calling her "Kitty", whilst being her
confidant at the same time. Christina Wolfskehl handles the role with sass and
spunk, full of energy and skill.
At 26 years old, Chris is the youngest of the Mundy
sisters, and, like Maggie, has no paid job. Gerry Evans fathered her son,
Michael, seven years ago and is seen as walking in and out of their lives as he
chooses. As a result, Chris fluctuates between falling into a deep depression
when he leaves, yet being renewed with optimism that his next visit will be a
permanent stay. Her lack of income can lead Chris to be defensive on the
upbringing of her son, shown when Kate buys Michael a new spinning top at the
beginning of the play. Betsy Rinaldi plays Christina with great compassion and
proficiency. She offers a sympathetic
character with depth of emotion and confusing feelings.
Rose is 32, but behaves much younger than her
years, due to a developmental disability. This condition makes her particularly
vulnerable to an unseen character, Danny Bradley, who Rose believes is in love
with her. However, her sisters believe that Danny Bradley is exploiting Rose's
simple nature for his own gain. She is particularly close to her older sister,
Agnes, with whom she knits gloves to sell in the town. Erin Olson
is wonderful as Rose a role which she handles with dexterity and
assurance.
Agnes is quiet and contemplative, knitting gloves
with Rose whilst also helping to keep a house. She appears to be silently
infatuated with Gerry and is quick to leap to his defense. However, Michael's
narratives reveal Agnes' future to be bleak. Her knitting fails to support her
when the knitware factory opens. Tanya Anderson as Agnes is wonderful as Agnes,
full of quiet intensity and depth. She last played Nurse Ratchid in “one Flew
Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” here at 2nd Story.
Michael does not appear onstage as a child, but his
presence is alluded to by the other characters, while the adult Michael speaks
his lines from the side of the stage. As a child, Michael is seen as being
surrounded by love, since all five of the sisters dote on him. Michael also
acts as a narrator, not only dictating the action as it goes on, but revealing
the futures of the other characters in the play. David DeAlmo is superb as
Michael, full of finesse and with an excellent Irish accent. He has a profound
emotional impact at times with his lines, touching and heartrending.
Gerry Evans is initially portrayed as an intensely
negative character, particularly by Kate, for having left Chris after fathering
her illegitimate son, Michael. However, upon his first appearance in the play
is shown to be charming and genuinely affectionate towards Chris. His current
job as a gramophone salesman (and his former job as a ballroom dancing
instructor) represent his freedom in sharp contrast to the stagnant lives of
the Mundy sisters. This is made all the more obvious by the fact that he is
leaving Ireland
to join the International Brigade and fight in the Spanish Civil War, something
that is further disapproved of by Kate. James Lucey plays Gerry with charm
and energy. He makes his nefarious and sneaky behavior—the man is sleazy and a
perpetual flirt—highly appealing.
Jack is in his late fifties. He had left home as a
young man to work as a missionary in a leper colony in Uganda.
Beyond this, he had been a Catholic chaplain in the British Army in East
Africa during World War I. He is well respected in Donegal for his
missionary work in a leper colony. However, his sudden return to Ballybeg for
undisclosed reasons has paved the way for great changes. He has difficulty with
his memory, often forgetting the names of his sisters or confusing them with
his former house boy Okawa, with whom we are told he was very close. Jack
professes a broad admiration for the pagan beliefs of the native people of Africa,
and appears to have lost his Catholic faith, which may be the true reason his
superiors have sent him back. Bill Oakes plays Father Jack, who starts the play
with his memory deteriorating and his faith flagging and does a wonderful job,
handling the role with adroitness and zest.
Director Mark Peckham evokes the most from his
fine cast.
Set designer, Trevor Eliott transforms the stage
into an Irish cottage stage right and the rest of the stage into an outside
area, complete with grass and a tree. It is an excellent set.
It is a winning production, full of many touching
and funny moments, robust and endearing.
"Dancing at Lughnasa" (27 September - 27 October)
@ 28
Market Street, WARREN
RI
1(401)247-4200
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